Methods of Representation as Inferential Devices

Velez, Matias Osta (2019): Methods of Representation as Inferential Devices. In: Journal for General Philosophy of Science, Bd. 50, Nr. 2: S. 231-245

Abstract

In this article I am going to reconstruct Stephen Toulmin's procedural theory of concepts and explanations in order to develop two overlooked ideas from his philosophy of science: methods of representations and inferential techniques. I argue that these notions, when properly articulated, could be useful for shedding some light on how scientific reasoning is related to representational structures, concepts, and explanation within scientific practices. I will explore and illustrate these ideas by studying the development of the notion of instantaneous speed during the passage from Galileo's geometrical physics to analytical mechanics. At the end, I will argue that methods of representations could be considered as constitutive of scientific inference;and I will show how these notions could connect with other similar ideas from contemporary philosophy of science like those of models and model-based reasoning.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft
• Themengebiete: 100 Philosophie und Psychologie > 100 Philosophie
• ISSN: 0925-4560
• Sprache: Englisch